Angels Among Us
by Celestial Angel1
Summary: So Kari and Yamato are hurt. . .it\'s not looking good for Kari as she fights for life. Taichi is devastated about the accident and how he doubted Yamato. . . what the heck\'s going to happen??
1. Default Chapter

**This is my first stab at a Karato (Kari/Yamato) fiction! I would call them Yakari as they are traditionally called, but I don't like the term "Yakari". Karato is sweeter, plus, look at Sorato and Mimato. Mimi and Sora's names come first, so Kari's does to in my world! Anyway, here's my little ficcie, I hope you all like it and review it so I know to continue it! This should be a pretty good story all in all, with Taiora, maybe some Mikeru (yeah, I know, it's a weirder coupling, but sheesh, Karato's not??) and obviously Karato, since they are the main subjects in this tale. Read and review, and don't forget to enjoy!**   
  
Angels Among Us   
Chapter One: First Date   
  
Yamato Ishida squirted some blue gel into his hands, rubbing them together as he spread the cold goo evenly on his hands. He looked into the mirror, his intense blue eyes studying his reflection carefully. He raised his hands above his head and rubbed the gel into his blonde hair, creating little spikes of light colored locks pointing in several directions. He had changed a lot since he was younger. Now nineteen years old, Yamato wasn't as wirey as he used to be, filling out with a little muscle. He had given up his band for college, where he was a freshman. His hair was much shorter, but slightly long at the top. The only thing about Yamato that hadn't changed were his piercing blue, lady-killing, hypnotizing eyes. Those babies could render a woman helpless, as Yamato found out as a young teen.   
Finished with his hair, Yamato walked out of his bathroom and into his room, where he searched through his closets in pursuit of somthing decent to wear. Takeru, Yamato's only brother and recently his new roomate in his apartment, stood in the doorway, leaning on the door and watching his brother with an amused smile on his face, his equally blue eyes shining with curiosity.   
"Whatcha looking for, Yamato? Something special? Like for. . . . a date?" Takeru teased, grinning. Yamato jumped slightly, not knowing Takeru was in the doorway, then sighed in relief as he found what he'd been seeking.   
"Yeah, I have a date tonight." Yamato said as he buttoned the black shirt up, fixing the collar as he continued to search for something else to wear.   
"With who, pray tell!" Takeru asked, walking in and sitting on Yamato's bed. Yamato looked back at Takeru, then turned his attention back to his search.   
"Kari." Yamato said simply. Takeru almost choked on his tongue, making Yamato smile slightly as he pulled out a nice pair of blue jeans and pulled them on.   
"Why are you going out with Kari??" Takeru asked, shocked.   
"Why do you go out with Mimi?" Yamato retorted. Takeru thought about the question, then shook his head.   
"That's different! I'm sixteen, Mimi's eighteen. You're nineteen years old! Kari's just turning seventeen in a few months, that's not right!" Takeru stumbled.   
"Mimi's going to turn nineteen way before you turn seventeen. There'll be a three year gap between you and Mimi longer than there will be between me and Kari." Yamato pointed out. Takeru sulked as he realized his brother had beat him. Grinning, Yamato punched his little brother playfully. Takeru stared evily at Yamato.   
"Hey! Watch the hair!" Yamato cried as Takeru tackled him.   
"Kari! Come out of there right now! I HAVE to go to the BATHROOM!!!!" Taichi begged, hopping on one foot. He heard his sister giggle from within the only bathroom in the apartment he shared with her and his parents. Taichi moaned in anguish, swiping his hand through his short brown hair as he continued to hop around the hallway, his dark chocolate eyes virtually brimming with tears as he waited impatiently. The door opened, and Kari walked out. Taichi bolted past her, not even taking notice of her in her pink haltar top and low cut jeans that showed off her stomach slightly. Kari shrugged and waited.   
"Three. . .two. . .one. . ." Kari counted quietly. She heard Taichi suddenly call out from in the bathroom.   
"Kari! What in the heck are you wearing?!?" Taichi cried, his voice muffled. Kari smiled and walked into her room, where she began twisting her shoulder-length brown hair and pinning the coils up with bobby pins. Taichi burst in, looking at Kari in shock. He grabbed a coat and wrapped it around his sister as he then stalked into her closet and searched for other clothes to wear.   
"Kari, I refuse to let you go out on a date with someone you barely know looking like that! I mean, you don't even know this guy!" Taichi lectured, pulling out a baby tee-shirt and tossing it at Kari, who had finished her hair, eight little cornrows lining the crown of her brunette head. The rest of Kari's hair fell around her shoulder. Kari threw the shirt back at Taichi and smiled.   
"I do know him. And so do you." Kari taunted. Taichi pondered her statement, then shrugged slightly.   
"Who is he?" Taichi asked. Kari smiled brightly and whispered into Taichi's ear. Taichi's mouth opened wide as he cried out.   
"No way, not Yamato! I forbid it!" Taichi yelled, shaking a finger at Kari, who yawned.   
"And why is that?" Kari asked. Taichi froze in mid-shake.   
"I don't know. . . .he's. . . .he's. . . .YAMATO!" Taichi retorted. Kari shook her head and pushed Taichi, who was still protesting, out the door. She sat down at her dresser and put on some makeup as Taichi continued to lecture from outside the room.   
Yamato got out of his black neon and practically skipped to the Kamiya's door, knocking lightly. He'd been waiting all day to come over and get Kari. He had the entire night planned out. First they'd go eat at the new seafood restaurant down the street. Then they'd go dancing at the local club. Finally, Yamato would take Kari home and kiss her. Yamato nodded his head as the night's activities flooded through his mind. The door opened, and Yamato stopped in mid-thought as he came face to face with Taichi, who looked at Yamato skeptically.   
"Hi Taichi, is Kari ready yet?" Yamato asked, trying to sound cool. Taichi didn't make a move. Yamato's stomach sank as he walked into the house with Taichi, sitting on the couch beside him and turning on the TV.   
"So, how's Sora doing?" Yamato asked, referring to Taichi's finacee Sora Takenouchi, who was in Kyoto with her father studying clothing design in school.   
"She's just fine. Now, about tonight. I don't want you to lay a hand on my sister. NO matter what she does. Don't touch her, or I'll-" Taichi said darkly.   
"You'll do what?" Kari asked cheerily, startling both young men. Yamato stared in awe at Kari as Taichi stumbled, trying to cover his threats to Yamato. Kari pouted, putting her hands on her shapely hips and shifting her weight onto one foot.   
"Aw, Taichi! You ruined it! I was going to give Yamato the night of his life!" Kari cried sarcastically, looking at Yamato seductively. Taichi softened, then relented.   
"Okay, okay. . . . .but mom and dad are out of town, remember? So that means eleven o'clock is curfew, alright?" Taichi said, glaring at Yamato. Both teens nodded and made a dash for the door, leaving the apartment and hopping into the car. Yamato screeched the tires as they sped down the street to the restauant they'd chosen.   
Inside the eatery, everything was set up like a ship, nets hanging from the ceiling, old sea antiques lining the walls beside pictures. The waitress led Yamato and Kari through a mangle of tables to a small secluded one in the back of the building. A large aquarium sat on three sides of the table, the water glowing neon blue. Yamato and Kari sat down and marveled at the tropical fish inside the glass. Kari looked at Yamato, and Yamato returned her gaze, their features outlined in blue light. Yamato reached for Kari's hand and grasped it lightly in his as they chatted about everything they could think of.   
The food soon arrived, and the couple ate hungrily, stopping every now and then to look into each other's eyes happily. As they left the establishment two hours after entering, they smiled and locked hands again, getting into the car and driving down the street toward the dance club.   
  
**I'm leaving it there! Hahahaha! The next chapter should contain the remainder of the date, then it's going to get a little tragic as something terrible happens to someone. Is it Taichi, who's home alone? Is it Yamato and Kari as they're on their very first date? Or could it be Sora in Kyoto? And what about Mimi or Takeru? What do you think is going to happen?? Review this and let me know what you think is going to happen! Go ahead and guess! You might be right!!**


	2. Stricken

**Alright, ya'll, here's the next chapter of "Angels Among Us"! This will continue Kari and Yamato's date! Woo hoo! Anyway, something's going to happen tonight, but what? Is everyone going to come out of it okay, or will someone end up dead? You're going to have to read this one to find out who's going to make it and who's not. . .**   
  
Angels Among Us   
Chapter 2: Stricken   
  
Yamato parked his car outside the dance club and opened Kari's door for her. Smiling at Yamato's gentlemanly attitude, Kari stepped out of the vehicle and walked into the dimly lit club with him. Together they stepped out onto the floor, wrapping themselves in a slow dance.   
"This is nice. I'm having a really good time, Yamato." Kari said sweetly as they swayed to and fro. Yamato smiled down at Kari and nodded.   
"Yeah. I'm glad we decided to do this. I've wanted to for a long time, you know." Yamato admitted. Kari's rusty eyes glimmered happily as the song ended and changed into a faster paced song. Kari separated from Yamato as some other girls ran up to her.   
"Kari! I didn't know you were here! We're going to do our routine from dance class during the next song, so do you wanna come too?" a taller girl with blonde hair and green eyes cried happily. The other girls nodded and rushed away to grab up some partners for the song that was playing. Kari and Yamato began to dance, moving their bodies to the beat of the music.   
"So you're going to do a dance from your studio?" Yamato asked as they danced close together. Kari nodded excitedly.   
"Yeah, I choreographed it too. I think I'm beginning to see a future in dance." Kari said as the song began to fade away into nothing. The DJ called for some room on the floor, and Yamato joined a large crowd of people who were watching about five girls including Kari get set for their song. The music cued, and the girls were soon dancing to Britney Spears' "Slave For You". Yamato couldn't take his eyes off Kari as she shook her hips and moved to the music. The dancers ended the dance with a huge leap into splits, making the large crowd go wild with applause. Kari stood up and ran to Yamato, who hugged onto her as she panted from all the dancing she had done.   
"That was awesome. The choreography was good enough for Britney herself." Yamato praised. Kari blushed and wrapped her arms around Yamato as another slow song played over the speakers. In the middle of the song, Yamato tilted Kari's head up and met her in a light kiss. Kari felt like she was about to melt completely as she returned the kiss feverishly. The couple remained locked in a kiss until they couldn't hold their breath any longer and parted. Yamato took Kari's hand and walked out of the club with her in tow.   
"It's getting late, I better get you home, or Taichi will go crazy." Yamato whispered into Kari's ear. Kari shrugged and got into the car, letting Yamato close her door for her.   
"I think I'd rather keep him waiting." Kari whispered back as Yamato got into the car, kissing his lips softly. Yamato blushed and started the car.   
"Kari!" Yamato cried. He couldn't believe Kari was thinking the way she was. Not that he didn't want her to, but it was their first date for crying out loud. Yamato turned the car around and headed away from home.   
Taichi watched TV quietly, the cordless phone in his hand as he waited for Kari or Sora to call. He wasn't worried about Kari, but if she called he wanted to be ready to go get her. The phone rang, and Taichi answered it hastily.   
"Kari?!?" Taichi asked worriedly. Sora laughed on the other end of the line. Taichi blushed and smacked his forehead.   
"Sorry Sora. Kari's out on a date tonight, and I'm just a little worried." Taichi explained.   
"Ooooh, with who?" Sora asked curiously.   
"Yamato." Taichi answered, slightly annoyed. Sora gasped in surprise.   
"But they're so different age-wise!" Sora cried.   
"I know, but Mimi and Takeru are too. I guess it's not that bad. I mean, she could have gone out with a nineteen year old who we didn't know and trust, you know?" Taichi replied.   
"True. I guess you're lucky, huh Taichi?" Sora asked, smiling.   
"I guess. So what's up?" Taichi asked after a short pause.   
"Nothing, I just missed hearing your voice." Sora answered.   
"I missed yours too." Taichi replied, turning off the TV.   
Yamato and Kari sat on the swings at Odaiba Elementary and began to swing back and forth. Soon they had found a rhythm and were swinging at the same pace. Kari looked at Yamato, who was looking into space.   
"What's the matter?" Kari asked. Yamato turned to Kari and stopped his swing. Kari stopped her swing also and looked at him oddly. He was acting differently than he was a few minutes ago.   
"Do you know that when you were at this school, I was in Junior High school? And then when you came to Junior High school, I was already in High school? I mean, we have so much age between us!" Yamato said.   
"Age has nothing to do with two people falling for each other. Look at Mimi and Takeru. Then Sora and Taichi. Both couples are in love, despite their ages. Sora and Taichi are just as in love as Mimi and Takeru. Why can't we?" Kari responded.   
"I'm sorry, I just was a little nervous about starting something with you because you're so much younger. But you're right, love knows no age, and I don't want it to. I love you Kari, and I want to be with you." Yamato said sincerely. Kari smiled and kissed Yamato's lips gently. They began kissing more feverishly, standing up out of the swings. Yamato wrapped his arms around Kari's waist, and Kari put her hands on Yamato's face as they deepened the kiss. Soon they had to part again, and Kari looked at her watch.   
"Uh-oh, it's past time to be home!" Kari cried. Yamato paled as he thought of what Taichi was going to do to his face when he brought Kari home. The couple sprinted to Yamato's car and drove quickly out of the parking lot.   
As Yamato drove toward Kari's home, he slowed down to the speed limit. He figured that either way, he was late, it would be stupid to speed and get pulled over. The car neared an intersection, and Yamato stopped, looking both ways. A car approached them, but had a stop light, so Yamato began to go through the intersection. The other car didn't stop. Yamato and Kari screamed as the other car hit the passenger side of their car, sending it crashing into a large truck parked on the other side of the street. The driver of the car got out and began running from the accident. A light came on from the inside of a house, and a man ran out to the accident, where Yamato and Kari lay inside the injured car. Yamato picked his head up off the stearing wheel and looked around groggily. He felt his head and looked at the blood that had oozed through a cut on his forehead. He felt his left arm go numb, and figured it was broken. Yamato looked over at Kari, who was laying against his shoulder with a large head wound. She was battered and bruised already, large cuts covering her body, most likely from broken glass. Her arms were contorted, and Yamato could see that one of her legs were pinned by wreckage.   
"Kari. . ." Yamato whispered weakly. Kari didn't move. He heard a man outside the car dialing the police and reporting the hit and run accident.   
"The ambulance is coming. . . is the girl okay?" the man asked nervously. Yamato checked for a pulse, and foud a very faint one.   
"She's got a very faint pulse. She's trapped." Yamato replied. The man pried open Yamato's door and pulled him out of the car as the ambulance came screaming around the corner, sirens blaring, lights everywhere. The EMTs took Yamato to the ambulance and checked him out as another ambulance came around the corner. They concluded that Yamato had broken his arm and possibly some ribs and needed to be taken to the emergency room right away.   
"I can't leave Kari!" Yamato cried as he was placed on a stretcher and put in an ambulance. Yamato cried out to Kari as the doors closed and the vehicle sped away.   
  
**So Yama and Kari are hurt. . .is Kari going to make it? You're going to have to read the next part to find out! Sorry to leave it this way, but I had to! You understand, right? RIGHT? Okay! Check this story out for the next edition!!"


	3. Be Okay

**Here's chapter 3! I have noticed a problem with text format, and to fix that problem, I've decided to put some space between speaking parts and/or descriptive paragraphs. I hope it makes it easier on you all to read! Anyway, here's the next part!**   
  
Angels Among Us   
Chapter 3: Be Okay. . .   
  
Yamato sat on the cold hard bed in the examining room of the ER, waiting impatiently as the doctor put the finishing touch on his left arm, which was wrapped in a white cast. The doctor helped Yamato put a shirt over her bandaged ribcage, where three ribs were broken and two were fractured. The blonde cringed as a sling was placed carefully over his arm, holding the cast in place. Yamato closed his sapphire eyes slowly as the doctor placed a butterfly stitch on the cut on his forehead, finishing his work on the young man's injuries.   
  
  
"You're lucky you're alive, Mr. Ishida." the doctor said as he disposed of some gauze tinted red from Yamato's head wound. Yamato stared at the floor, not speaking.   
  
  
"How's Kari?" Yamato asked, his voice cracking at the sound of her name. He vividly recalled the accident over and over in his mind, trying to find out how he could have avoided it altogether. The doctor avoided the question, cleaning the room quietly. Yamato's eyes widened in pure shock.   
  
  
"She didn't make it, did she?" Yamato asked softly, his eyes tearing up. The doctor softened, his brown eyes dark and sad for the young man in his examining room.   
  
  
"She's alive. When I left you alone in here about half an hour ago, she was still being operated on. She lost a lot of blood, and has some broken bones. She's cut up pretty bad right now and has some damage to her head, possibly resulting in permanent brain damage. Now, it's been thirty minutes, she might have passed, she might have come to, but all I know is that she didn't look good, son." the doctor explained somberly. Yamato wiped a tear from his eye with his good hand.   
  
  
"Can I go check and see how she is? I have to call her brother. . .my brother. I have to call my mom and dad. I have to. . . have to call her mother and father. . .I have to let them know she's alive. . ." Yamato choked, his voice cracking again. The doctoe nodded and let Yamato pass through the doors and walk toward the waiting room. Yamato picked up the reciever to a payphone and dialed Tai's number slowly. He slammed the phone down as he found it to be busy. Sighing, Yamato sank into a couch and cried to himself.   
  
  
Taichi continued to chat with Sora, even though it was tying up the line and running up the long distance bill.   
  
  
"So, it's after eleven and Kari's not home. Should I kill Yamato, or let him live?" Taichi asked as he flipped through the channels. He passed by the local news station, which was showing pictures from the terrible accident that had happened that night.   
  
  
"Don't kill Yamato, he's just running late, that's all. The prolly lost track of time, you know we did that a little." Sora replied, wiping a strawberry strand of hair from her pretty face. Annoyed, Taichi flipped back through the channels, stopping at the news station when he recognized Yamato's car.   
  
  
"Holy Lord, Yamato and Kari got into an accident! Sora, I love you, and I'll call you back later as soon as I find my sister and Yamato!" Taichi cried as he hung up on Sora and rushed out of the house toward the hospital.   
  
  
Yamato sat straight up in his chair, trying to keep his ribs from aching. Suddenly, Taichi burst through the doors and ran to Yamato, who stood shakily and faced his friend. Taichi's eyes were red and bloodshot, almost as bloodshot as Yamato's were at the time. The blonde and the brunette stared at each other for a moment, then broke down completely.   
  
  
"Is she okay, Yamato?" Taichi asked. Yamato looked at Taichi grimly, then wiped some fresh tears from his face.   
  
  
"It's not good. She's in a coma, and the doctors say she might not come out of it." Yamato whispered, choking back his emotion as best he could. Taichi stared in disbelief as the reality of his sister's injury hit home.   
  
  
"What happened? If it was your fault, I'm going to kill you right here, right now." Taichi said, his voice showing his despair.   
  
  
"We stopped at the light. . . the other guy ran the light and I. . .I couldn't stop in. . . .in time! He hit us! And we wrecked into a truck that was parked on the other side of the street. . . she was so limp, like she was dead. . . I couldn't find a pulse. . .and when I did, they pulled me out. I couldn't help her, I couldn't prevent this. . .I could have killed her! How could I be so STUPID!?" Yamato yelled, sobbing onto Taichi loudly. Taichi patted Yamato's shoulder lightly and sat with him on the couch he'd comandeered for himself.   
  
  
"Mr. Ishida?" a woman asked timidly. Yamato and Taichi stood and faced a petite woman around twenty eight with blonde hair and blue eyes. The woman introduced herself as Kari's doctor and sat with the boys again after Taichi explained who he was.   
  
  
"I'm afraid Kari's condition isn't good. She is in a coma, and we don't think she's going to come out of it. Where are her parents?" the doctor asked.   
  
  
"They're out of town. . ." Taichi trailed.   
  
  
"I see. . .well, we should contact them shortly. Mr. Ishida has given me the number and I will see to it that Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya are called. You can go into her room now, she's recovering." the doctor said as she walked away. Taichi and Yamato hurried to Kari's room and stopped at what they saw. Kari was lying in a hospital bed with tubes and IV's everywhere. Her face was battered and stitched, accented by a white bandage around her forehead. Both of her arms were in casts, and her leg was also. She looked so tiny in the bed, almost like a small child. Taichi ran to the side of the bed and fell beside it, sobbing and holding Kari's limp hand in his. Yamato took Kari's other hand and closed it in his own, holding back tears of pain and sorrow for the love of his life.   
  
  
**That's chapter 3. So no one died, but Kari's not doing to well. What's going to happen to her? And what about Yama and Tai? What's Taichi's mom and dad going to say when they get that phone call? No, it's no one's fault, but people are going to cry, emotions are going to flare and someone's clinging to life by a thread. . . .**


End file.
